By Nicole Farid – LIC Board Member
Isn’t it amazing that green tea and matcha—something that started in China and flourished in Japan thousands of years ago—can now be found on almost any high street around the world?
What caused this journey across the globe? And I’m not just talking about a few teabags here—I mean loose leaves, matcha (that super-potent form), and countless other varieties. Green tea is now a global phenomenon.
From your hip high-street matcha iced latte in London to supermarket shelves in France, Nairobi, and Boston—green tea is everywhere.
The History of Green Tea (c. 2737 BCE, China)
Green tea is believed to have been discovered in ancient China, around 2737 BCE, by Emperor Shennong, who accidentally drank water with a tea leaf in it. It soon became popular for its medicinal and refreshing qualities. This is the true source of green tea and where green tea was cultivated to begin with.
Samurai warriors in Japan used to drink matcha before battle to enhance focus and calm their nerves. The combination of caffeine and L-theanine gave them a state of alert relaxation — ideal for combat readiness. In parts of ancient China and Tibet, compressed tea bricks (sometimes green tea) were used as currency. People traded goods and services with these bricks, and they could be broken off and brewed when needed. In traditional Chinese medicine, matcha and green tea powders were sometimes mixed into face masks and poultices to treat acne, sunburn, or inflammation. Now it’s made a comeback in modern skincare.
How Did Green Tea Reach Europe?
Now there’s a small history lesson here the trade of such products like tea started by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. Obrigado a todos, Dank jullie wel, Thank You very much! So next time, while the British popularized the ‘cuppa,’ the roots of tea culture stretch much further — thank our friends in China who first cultivated it or xièxiè (pronounced “shieh-shieh”). Back to the point…tea entered Europe and especially UK as an extremely luxury good. The British did normalize the drinking of black tea however for a long time green tea remained a true luxury. I would go as far as saying even until today it is pretty luxury if you want the high quality green tea.
Globalization & the Green Tea Glow-Up
If we zoom ahead in time to the 20th-21st century we are the most culturally aware and evolved as we have ever been due to globalization which is so wonderful. Just imagine if there was nothing else to drink but black tea? As delicious and aromatic as it is life would get pretty boring. People are travelling the world to new countries more than ever especially with the increase in digitalization and use of social media, all over Instagram and tiktok we see our friends, family and colleagues travel all over the world and naturally that makes us want to see and taste more of the world too. (I can’t tell you how many cultural gadgets I have bought from my travels that I have the intentions to use at some point; including my little matcha tea whisk…you know which one I’m talking about; it’s actually called the Chasen in Japanese and made of bamboo traditionally).
The Science-Backed Benefits
Then you have the scientific research which tells us how Green tea can save our life by being high in antioxidants and great for your heart. Let alone its cousin matcha which has up to 137 times more EGCG (how antioxidant level is measured) than green tea. It’s like that cousin your mother always compared you to! Not to mention Beyond short-term focus, green tea may lower the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation in the brain. Green Tea Today.
Green Tea and Matcha Today
As I walk down oxford street, through Hyde park any coffee shop I walk past now has some form of matcha drink! It’s insane it’s absolutely everywhere which makes me question the originality and quality but that’s a different story. Especially now with summer in the air you have your matcha lemonades, matcha cherry lattes, matcha frappé, dirty matcha, honey matcha latte. It is literally everywhere, if you are not selling a green tea drink you are not in the game. Back to my point…something that was drank and once carefully prepared by elders in small villages centuries ago is now like our daily go to so let’s have a moment to remember those who brought this antioxidating (is that a word?) leaf to our lives from thousands of miles away. Thank you for sharing your culture with us.
Shieh Shieh!
